Therapy
by spearmintsparrows
Summary: How are diamonds and fear alike? They both last forever. Caught in a lethal game with two very serious men, Rinslet Corvus finds herself in the wrong place at the right time to encounter Gotham's resident master of fear. Plans intertwine. Things break.
1. An Exclusive Pursuit

**A/N:So I have this eensy little (LIES)fascination with Scarecrow and Batman. Andt his plot has been flinging itself around in my head for a few weeks. I thought I should give it its fair try. Full disclosure, this story will involve a lot more of the darker side of Gotham than the good- doing side of Gotham, as the main charrie and Scarecrow are its focus points. Their individual plans will coincide building off of this chapter. Batman will have his due air time as well, though in a more co-star role than star status(it pains me, too ;o;). Please bear with the dialogue. At times, it will be fairly obnoxiously clichéd. This is intentional. It has a purpose C:I own Clark, Victor, and the main charrie. Everyone else as of yet are sadly the awesome mindbabies of someone else. Hope you enjoy~!**

The streets were lined with cars meant to broken in and windows already half-shattered. The alleys were the sort that fell dark in the light of day and the people half-hidden in doorways and under lamplights weren't that much different. It wasn't the best neighborhood to be in once the real nightfall took hold. It certainly wasn't the safest. In fact, it was just about the worst place to be if you're a single woman walking all by you lonesome. Unless you're me.

I caught the eye of a burly, scarred man under the one of the lamps. He scowled at me as I passed, no doubt trying to get a hold on my soul. I offered him a smile on painted lips and continued my traipse. I had no qualms with him or any of this place's cardboard cutout, would-be villains. I was my own brand of poison in that way, and all my qualms were being saved for a few streets over; saved for where the bad part of Gotham bled into the good part of Gotham. They were being saved for a self-entitled man in black, a man with pointed ears and a utility belt, the kind all the kids were buying. Everyone wanted to look like a hero.

Unless you're me.

I fell into one of the shadows that blended into one of the desolate buildings. I needed to get my working clothes on. I threw open my bag without much concern over the clothes spilling onto the gritty floor. I hadn't had much time to connect with the outfit, the premise of looking through another's eyes. I'd only managed to keep the cause closer to my lungs than oxygen. That would do for now. Clark and Victor would probably scoff at the ragtag quality of the beginnings of my contribution to the game. That was okay. They would just have to wait until I could show them that even the most mundane, unimpressive of things grow cold and malevolent in the night.

I stripped down to my tank and running shorts, pulling on the outfit with motions as calculated as an assembly line. First the dress. The gauntlets. The stockings. The wings. The boots and finally the mask. I'd spent so little time on the mask, it was a black stretch of fabric that covered the lower half of my face and connected to one of those Italian masks, something black and silver and purple with feathers and a beak that looked carved from tears. Clark and Victor couldn't say I didn't do it with style.

I rushed the street, abandoning my conflicting feelings with it. Tonight I would seize the day, and a beautiful amount of gems with it. Petty as the goal was, the bounty would fuel my third of the game for awhile yet. I was there in only a few minutes. I was in in less. The security system was a joke, a game of Tetris compared to the matrixes that Father employed. I was shoveling necklaces, bracelets, broaches…into my bag at a speed unaffected by the splendor of the objects I held captive. I didn't stop to be dazzled at their reflection of the moonlight or the twist of their delicate chains. In fact, I was faintly appalled at the presence of _tiaras_in their midst, as if any vile, tainted woman of the hierarchy of this city had the _audacity_to believe herself a _princess._A queen. I laughed under my breath.

"What's so funny?"

I spun around, bag firmly in my grip. I was nonplussed for a moment, not sure how to react in the presence of someone so…much farther up on the rungs of villainy than I at this point in the game.

"Is that…_fear_on your face, my dear? I do enjoy it as a midnight snack." Scarecrow's eyes reflected the moon in a much more eerie light than the jewels. Eerie, because he was entirely immersed in shadow. With a flick of his wrist, a film of dead grey mist fell over me and I grinned.

"Don't play parlor tricks, Scarecrow." I thanked whatever lucky star was shining over my head when I'd installed a gas mask in my outfit as a precaution against the chemicals I was bound to handle before I reached checkmate. "That's entirely unbecoming."

"Oh. _Oh._I see we're not just a common thief under our frills and feathers. How entirely…inconvenient." It's hard to interpret expressions out of a burlap sack, but I decided that the scowl sewn starkly into the fabric probably matched the face underneath. He took a few long strides forward and I prepared to fight fear itself.

A cry rang out behind his back and I just managed to discern through the window two shapes falling to the pavement, guns knocked out of hand.

"You brought the _Bat_?" Incredulity.

"…So it seems." Scarecrow turned from me for a moment and I took the opportunity to dash past him. He spun at the last second, hand clutching my bag. I threw a punch at his burlap face and he jerked back. Just then glass shattered around us, the Knight of the Night barging in to bring us to justice. I laughed again, rolling out of the way as Scarecrow took my fall. I offered him a backwards wave as I found my opening to escape. I ran, leaving the two of them wrestling on the ground.

The sound of jewels bounced delightfully with each of my quick, staccato steps on the asphalt. My veins shook with adrenalin under my skin. My fingertips twitched with the feel of the face under the burlap mask. My mask shone in the light of the first night that marked my move. I'd consented to the game, rolled my dice, and I was out-so far out of home and in the middle of all the convoluted dealings that made up Gotham's nightlife. I'd passed Go and was going to receive much more than two hundred dollars for my lootings.

I was born to be a villain.


	2. Porcelain and Genetics

**A/N ****I ****know ****next ****to ****nothing ****about ****the ****content ****or ****procedures ****of ****this ****profession. ****I ****hope ****to ****convince ****you ****otherwise. ****Here****'****s ****a ****chapter ****necessary ****for ****a ****little ****character/****plot ****development****C: ****You****'****ll ****have ****your ****Scarecrow ****and ****Batman ****soon. ****Feed ****my ****review ****narwhal with some constructive criticism?**

"Dr. Corvus?"

"Dr. Corvus?"

"Dear Lord in the Heavens, RINSLET WAKE UP."

My eyes slit open as I sat up. My back hurt and I realized, looking round, it was because I'd fallen asleep across the arm chair rather than my bed. It sucked.

"What time is it, Halford?"

"Exactly twenty minutes past get your ass up and get out the door."

"Rude. Will you at least get me a cup of tea while I get ready?"

"What am I, your butler?"

"Yes."

Halford sighed, pained, and turned towards the door. "You know, you might want to cut down on the late-night gallivanting. You _do_have a day job, you know." I stuck my tongue out at him and he flipped me the bird nonchalantly as he left the room. I swear. If my father knew how he treated me, he'd have Halford in the streets before noon. I smiled. That may have been a part of why I loved Halford so much.

I crawled my way out of the chair because, _ouch,_that hurt, and made my way to the dresser. Looking in the mirror, it was obvious that I'd been out all night. There were light purple halfmoons under my eyes, bright slashes of lipstick and smudges of eyeliner where my movements had smeared them. I was surprised Halford hadn't teased me about it. Maybe he was a better man than I thought. Unlikely. I washed my face in the basin and combed my hair, evening out the tangled black curtain. By the time I changed into a charcoal grey suit and happy robin's egg blouse, I looked less like a creep of the night and much more like Dr. Rinslet Corvus, Head Intellect of Corvus and Hawke's biomedical engineering division. Less black cape and more white coat.

"What's this? I could have sworn there was a heathen clown lady in here earlier, but I've returned to find Master Rinslet at her mirror. Interesting." Halford put down a cup on the dresser and hung back to sip his own. Of course he had to make me wait until he had his own cup to put us on equal footing. I rolled my eyes at him as he lifted a brow.

"So. Want to tell me where you were last night?"

"Want to act like you're an actual butler and not get in my personal affairs?"

"Oooh, it involves a boy. Spill."

I looked at him an entire moment in silence and he was utterly not phased. "It involved men and gems and that's all you need to know."

"Mm-hmm. Does Daddy know there are men trying to buy your affections?"

"As if to both of those. What Daddy does know, is that I am late for work and burning his money by the minute. So thanks for the tea, and I might gossip with you later if I decide you're more amusing than obnoxious."

"Bye Princess."

I shot him the bird.

I stared at the sheets of fillers, not sure what Father was expecting of me. What the hell did I care what colour wrapping he picked to put my immunity pills in? It was kind of sick, really, to spend so much time on home décor for microscopic bacteria that would serve to inoculate themselves to the public. As if the bacteria really wanted to be certain it went on its suicide mission in Summer Fun Pink instead of Moroccan Twilight. Who even came up with colour palettes for these things? I closed my eyes and eenie-meanie-minie-moed it. Corvus and Hawke's fall line would be packaged in Mellow Melon. Great. Now that that was decided, I scribbled down a few comments and clipped the sample square onto the clipboard. The marketing exec would have to finalize everything. I had to return to the real brunt of my job, culturing bacteria and playing with diseases until I could either contain them or smite them.

By noon, my brow was lined with the sweat of my concentration. I'd set a fresh batch of bacteria in the back like a tray of cookies in the oven. My focus for the last several hours had been nothing but preparation, reviewing the latest journals on the bacteria. I was deep into the last when the lab door breached open and a shadow strung itself tall across the dimly lit desk space in the room's subcorner.

"Father." I glanced up from my work, leaning on my elbow.

"Rinslet." Father was a tall, reedy man with blue eyes and brand name ties worn over old suits.

"Can I help you?"

"I came for your preference sheet."

"It was on the table in the main room." I raised both my brows, wondering if he was going to own up or not.

"I saw." He cleared his throat. "I also wanted to talk about the past few days. You and Clark and Victor."

He was, then. "What about?"

"You've all been late to work recently. Not answering any social calls. Always out late. I'm worried."

"You've been keeping tabs on them? I mean, I'm not surprised considering I actually _work_for you. But Clark and Victor? That's a little overkill."

"It is. Which is why I wish all of you would keep me in tabs in the first place so I didn't _have_to go to such lengths."

"I'm sure if you bring that up with them, they'll take it into account."

He gave me one of his wiser, incredulous expressions.

"For Mother's sake, at least." I amended.

"Well, then. I hope you will then. Think of letting her in if you've left the rest of us out." He turned on his heel then, no doubt to leave his pretense on the table in the main room as he classically left with the last word and only one side. He stopped. "This was a business visit."

"Was it?"

He approached with an ironic air of caution and set a file in front of me. "Don't show it to anyone, ever. I don't care if they promise you this world or to name another after you. I'd like you to consider what's inside." _In __other __words, __this __is __what __you__'__re __going __to __do, __because __both __your __father __and __your __boss __says __so._Then he left.

I opened the file. I was interested.

"Project E.M.O.T.E.; An outbreak of a virus based on all the most powerful abilities of the human body and mind."


End file.
